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Cover Story: Chopper and the Quack Doctor Vol. 4: "Your Blue Nose Is Really Strange. Haha... I Like It."
Only after walking closer does Hiriluk realize that the little figure standing motionless by the sea isn't a human child at all, but a blue-nosed reindeer with antlers, standing on two legs and covered in thick fur. Smiling, Hiriluk greets him warmly. Tears well up in the blue-nosed reindeer's eyes, and he turns and runs away without looking back.
...
Devil Fruit powers came in all shapes and forms, but they all shared one thing in common. Beyond ordinary mastery lay a higher stage of development... Awakening.
Among all the Paramecia users shown in the manga, only two had clearly demonstrated Awakening. One of them was Charlotte Katakuri. His Mochi Mochi Fruit allowed him to assimilate the surrounding terrain, turning it into mochi that obeyed his every command.
"Awakening."
With one hand pressed against the thin layer of ice covering the ground, Katakuri let out a low shout through his scarf.
The frozen earth beneath both him and Aokiji suddenly came alive. Massive pillars of flowing mochi burst upward from every direction, surging toward Aokiji.
Bang!
One pillar smashed Aokiji apart into countless flying ice shards. Using the impact to his advantage, he avoided the other incoming pillars before reforming atop another towering column of mochi.
Looking at the overwhelming scene before him, Aokiji's expression turned serious. "So you've awakened your power... I can't underestimate you anymore, Charlotte Katakuri."
Katakuri waved a hand. Several thinner mochi arms suddenly emerged from the surface of the pillar Aokiji was standing on, their fists coated in Armament Haki as they swung toward him from multiple directions.
Naturally, Aokiji wasn't going to stand there forever and let himself be smashed apart. Having mastered Soru, he was actually quite fast; he simply rarely bothered to move at top speed. With a flash, he dodged the Haki-coated mochi fists closing in from every side.
But wherever he landed, the terrain, now completely under the control of Katakuri's awakened Mochi Mochi Fruit, endlessly transformed into more fists, walls, and pillars of mochi that continued chasing after him.
Seeing this, the three Charlotte siblings watching nearby finally relaxed a little.
Standing atop his two floating books, Mont-d'Or folded his arms and laughed. "Haha! To force Brother Katakuri to use this technique... this Marine Vice Admiral really is something."
Charlotte Angel, still pinned beneath Liam, strained to twist her head toward the incredible battle. "Brother Katakuri's using Awakening! No one's ever survived after making him use this move!"
"But..." Charlotte Castard kept staring at the icy figure. Despite being shattered over and over by Katakuri's awakened attacks, Aokiji still looked calm and completely unharmed. She frowned. "Why? Why doesn't Brother Katakuri's Armament Haki work against him? If this keeps up... even Awakening..."
Mont-d'Or smiled confidently. "Don't worry, Sister Castard. If Brother Katakuri is willing to spend so much stamina using Awakening, then he must have already figured out that ice guy's ability."
Still sitting on Angel, Liam silently watched Aokiji race across the twisting mochi terrain.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Aokiji dashed across the battlefield while giant mochi structures attacked him from every direction. Wherever he passed, a thick layer of frost spread behind him. The mochi under Katakuri's control was instantly frozen into towering ice sculptures.
Leaping high into the air, Aokiji casually threw several icy spears toward Katakuri below.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The spears pierced through the openings Katakuri had deliberately left in his mochi body after predicting their trajectories, then embedded themselves in the ground. Cold mist immediately began pouring from the ends of the frozen spears.
"Ice Age..." Aokiji's voice echoed from above.
The entire battlefield, along with Katakuri, was instantly swallowed by a world of glaciers.
As Aokiji landed, Katakuri exploded out of the solid ice covering him.
Crack!
He lashed out with a kick. His mochi leg shot forward, coated in Armament Haki, and sent Aokiji flying.
While Aokiji's shattered body was reforming again, Katakuri gripped his trident with both hands, stepped forward, and slammed it into the frozen ground.
BOOM!!
A massive crack raced across the battlefield. The ice covering the terrain shattered apart one layer after another. Freed from the ice, the awakened mochi terrain immediately resumed its relentless pursuit of Aokiji.
"It seems..." Aokiji spoke calmly while weaving through the endless attacks, "...even if you've figured something out, you're still not capable of doing anything about it."
He moved effortlessly through the awakened battlefield. Even when he couldn't avoid an attack, he simply allowed himself to be shattered. The scattered ice rolled across the ground before gathering together and reforming into a perfectly unharmed Aokiji.
He had possessed the Ice-Ice Fruit for many years. Using it at this level barely consumed any stamina at all.
Katakuri, on the other hand, had endured the freezing cold from the very beginning while constantly using Haki. His condition was steadily deteriorating.
The bitter cold had already drained a considerable amount of Katakuri's stamina. He had no interest in trading words.
As he charged forward with his trident, his free hand manipulated the ground, causing a massive mass of mochi to surge upward. It rapidly took the shape of a gigantic arm several meters thick, its entire surface coated in black Armament Haki.
"Now that's a scary punch..." Aokiji remained completely unhurried. He casually created several ice beasts and birds, sending them toward Katakuri. Whether they actually injured him didn't matter, as long as they carried the cold with them.
The enormous floating mochi fist, already covered in frost, swung down under Katakuri's command.
Boom!
Aokiji shattered once again.
"I already told you..." Among the countless rolling ice fragments, one piece, perhaps his mouth, continued speaking lazily, "...it's useless."
There! That one!
A red light flashed through Katakuri's eyes.
Among all the scattered fragments of Aokiji's body, one medium-sized piece of ice rolled across the ground. Suddenly, a lump of mochi burst from the earth beneath it, lifting it into the air. At the same time, another mass of awakened mochi circled in from above.
Both the mochi rising from below and the mochi descending from above were coated in jet-black Armament Haki.
BOOM!!!
In a split second, the ice fragment, precisely predicted by Katakuri's Observation Haki and perfectly trapped by his awakened terrain, was crushed from above and below. It exploded into powder finer than flour.
Rustle...
Not far away, countless ice fragments gathered together to reform Aokiji's body. He looked calmly at Katakuri, then casually wiped the corner of his mouth. A thin line of blood stained his fingers.
Breathing heavily behind his scarf, Katakuri said quietly, "See? I hit you after all."
"Yes!" Mont-d'Or clenched his fist in excitement.
Even Castard couldn't hide the joy on her face.
At that moment, the two Haki-coated masses of mochi slowly separated. The ice fragment between them had been pulverized so completely that not even dust remained.
Yet from the empty space between them, a wisp of icy blue air drifted out like a freezing breeze. It silently flew toward Aokiji and merged back into his body.
Mont-d'Or and Castard stared in confusion. "...What was that?"
(End of Chapter)